Tiger Sleeve

I'm sure I've said we're almost done before, but seriously, we're almost done...

This was one of those classic ones for me where I'm convinced I can finish a much larger area that is actually possible for me in the allotted time (i.e. thought I'd finish the whole tiger during our session time).  Once I get into something I tend to have a fairly methodical approach, and I always forget that the style I prefer to do things takes a lot of time.  Ideally, there is minimal skin showing at all, dense black and color, tight little air spaces (leaving a small strip of skin between the color and the outline to give a little more pop to what is essentially a 2D image) and on and on.  I've realized it's just not an approach that can be blasted through and still maintain the look I'm striving for.  

I'm glad that my clients enjoy me and the process (I think/hope) and appreciate what goes into these things.  It can be an unexpected lesson in patience and endurance for a lot of people, not to mention seriously challenging their previous comfort levels.  These things are a serious commitment, and I genuinely hope that they're getting a little something more out of the experience that just a tattoo...

Mr. Tiger Guy here is a great example of someone I think has evolved and grown a bit through his two or so year tattoo journey so far.  Understanding his connection the the experience and enthusiasm for the art really helps me stay focused and motivated...

NY Convention

This piece was the majority of my time at the convention.

Friday I had a bunch of fun doing swirling clouds around the forearm of a super cool dude I know (got caught up in chatting and didn't get photos) for about six hours.  The above piece was pretty much most all of Saturday and a big chunk of Sunday (it's a really big tattoo, he's like 6'4" or more in real life and built like an ox).  Saturday we outlined everything, and finished the koi and the pink peony I believe (seriously, it was non stop and it's kind of a blur).  He had a fairly good sized tattoo on his upper arm that we were able to cover very successfully and still have everything flow nicely.

On Sunday we added the water and finished the flowers.  Eventually we'll add more black background around everything and really give it a traditional looking half sleeve silhouette.  He really wanted a half sleeve done in a weekend, but I just couldn't bring myself to cut the corners to make that happen.  When you're on the road, you're usually dealing with limited time constraints.  Folks tend to want to get as much as possible while they can,  and too often it can be tempting to choose quantity over quality.  I'd rather leave him with this portion finished in a way that I'm proud of and was done right with intention and focus (and we're the only ones that know it's gonna get more).  Also, I feel like the biggest virtue that big tattoo projects teach you besides perseverance is patience.

He hadn't gotten tattooed in a very long time, but did perfectly.  Couldn't have asked for a better guy to work with on this one.  I think we're both very motivated to continue on with this one and on to the other side...

And as a really great added surprise, Horitoshi came to give us a surprise visit!  When I first got to NY, I found out that he had just decided to come to New Jersey a few days after.  He was so good to me when I stayed with him in Japan, and has been such a big influence on me, that I was really bummed that I wouldn't be able to make it over there (full schedule of work) and he wouldn't be coming to the city.  Then on Saturday they decided to show up unannounced and surprise us (Shunho, who I was sharing the booth with) with a short visit...

It was a really great show and I'd really like to thank the folks who helped us out around the booth.  And an extra big thanks and debt of gratitude to Bill and Junii Salmon for entrusting the Diamond Club booth to me and trusting me to represent them in their absence.  Very big responsibility and honor in my world...

NY Peonies

Just starting to get settled back in from a whirlwind work trip to New York.

Had pretty much the best trip ever and can't wait to go back next year.  I was very honored to get an invitation to be a guest artist at NY Adorned for a few days and had an amazing experience there.  It's very high energy shop with an extremely talented and down to earth crew of tattooers.  I felt completely welcomed and really enjoyed my interactions with everyone there.  It was an interesting experience for me as I usually work in a private room where it's pretty much just me and the client.  To be in a big open space working alongside all these great tattooers non stop all day was hugely motivating and helped push me a little further than usual.  

I had one client a day for the four days, and put in a lot of time on each of them.  The peonies above were this guys first tattoo.  He sat great and was a real pleasure to interact with.  All of my sessions there went really well, and everyone I tattooed was a seriously great person and pleasure to work with.

I was sort of hoping to get this all done in one day (very wishful thinking), but the reality of doing peonies in this style (bright white tips, color edged up in rows between the white, little air spaces in the leaf veins etc.) is that they take a very long time.  Most of the ones I've seen done by friends of mine in the Horitoshi family (whose style I'm emulating in these) take 3-5 hours each by hand poke.  My friend Horizakura who  I was staying with was joking with me that he thought machine work would be faster than that, but with this look there's no real shortcut or time saving with a machine.  It's all about following a stylistic formula and making sure every part of the process is perfect...

Big thanks to everyone at the shop for being so welcoming, Horizakura and his wife for putting me up for 9 days, and an extra big thanks to the owner Lori for all of her advice and inspiration.

Karashishi and Peonies

Finished...
I think it was seven sessions in all, and that's not too shabby for something in this style.  I'm very pleased with the result, and very much looking forward to starting the other side whenever the schedule opens up.  He sat like a champ every time and healed up great (even after a hiking trip in Yosemite right after a two day marathon session).
I've been fortunate to have Bill and Junii Salmon as teachers and mentors, and through them become good friends with the Horitoshi family.  This style is my version of what I've tried to distill from them over the years.  Although not every project is best suited to this look, and I'm open to exploring different things, this style of tattooing is closest to my heart and what I really strive to improve upon and move forward with...

Dragon Backpiece (Cover-up)

Really enjoying exploring a new background look on this one.  It struck me a while back while looking through Kuniyoshi's Suikoden series (http://www.kuniyoshiproject.com/) that I really dig the style of background he was doing on his representations of the famous bandits, and it's strange that you don't see it more in tattooing.
His drawings are widely considered the most important influence on Japanese full body tattooing.  Although you do see this more stippled look occasionally, it's not really too common.
I think it has a really strong folky look, and I've really wanted to do it on a larger piece.  Also, since this was a pretty big cover up, the misty style clouds were going to work the best so it was a perfect opportunity.
Been taking it easy the past couple sessions with all the shading, but next time is outlining over the right butt cheek and down the thigh...

Dragon

Finished up the last little section of shading...or so I thought.
As I was putting up these pictures, I realized that I totally forgot to do the last claw.  Dragons have four legs and I got three on there.  I guess I could cheat and just say that the fourth claw is tucked under the body or something, but it really needs to be popping out somewhere on the front there to really balance it out.
Guess I need to call him and have him came back in for a few minutes.  Besides that it all worked out...

Peony

Right in the pit.

I haven't tattooed an armpit in years, but it went as smooth as possible.  For some reason I thought it would be much more difficult (not that it was easy), but it is just skin after all, and if you start tripping out about the location that's certainly not going to help...
She sat great and it healed in just a few days.  Very positive outcome for a pretty unique spot to get tattooed...

Kingyo

At the end of the second day of shading, we threw this little guy on her hand.
She'd asked for it last time, but we didn't really get around to it.  This visit, she walked in the door and I think the first thing she asked was if we could do her hand this time.
I don't take doing hand or neck work very lightly at all, so it really has to be the right combination of client and image.  After having known her for a couple years combined with the amount of tattoo work she's already got, I was super comfortable doing it.
Drew it up on the spot and it felt good to capture the moment and go for it.
I'm really happy with how it fit on the hand and ties in to the rest of the arm without having to bring the background down all the way.
For a hand tattoo, I really like seeing some skin around it.  I think that helps set it off, and not just look like they pulled their sleeves down and have stumpy arms...

Koi Sleeve

I've been really busy and not able to update much new work lately, and I'm heading out to NY tomorrow and won't be keeping up on any regular updates from the road.

Instead of rambling on about how the tattoo went, I'll just post some pictures minus the play by play...

Tiger

Not too much commentary here.

Was able to get the majority of the stripes done in the time we had, and I'm looking to finish it next time.  The tiger is going to be black and grey, so I'm feeling like I can make it work to get it all done in one more.  We shall see...

After that comes the rest of the elements to this piece:

Rocks, misty clouds, moon, two chickens and a rooster.

Usually my approach is to try and outline everything first and then fill in, but for some reason on this one I'm feeling like finishing every component as we go.  Not sure why, but I'm just going to trust the intuition and go with it. "Do not question what you do not understand" I've been told...

Not sure how I feel about that one, but I am working hard and just be present to enjoy the ride...

Peony

Long time no update...

Running a tattoo studio is as hectic and fun as ever, and I've been gearing up and getting excited to get out of town to NY soon (which I'm booked up for already, so it's super cool that I can really concentrate the energy on just a few folks who are looking to get some serious work in a short time).  Not to mention all the construction we've got going on next to the studio, and the big impending move coming up...
Also just about a month out from child number two, so the home front is non stop as well.

Through it all I remain fortunate to be busy with high energy fun work on great folks though, and that's really what it's about.

Finished up this flower the other day.  We drew it on and grey shaded it before this color session.  I feel like that gives it kind of a richer tone that provides more depth and prevents it from getting too "loud" with the color.  And it's fun for me as it's a totally different approach to the peony for me (gotta keep experimenting and trying to figure it all out I guess).

It's a companion piece to a large chrysanthemum on her other shoulder that also has some fairly deep hues but still feels colorful.

She's one of the twice a month folks for most of the year, and we're getting to the point where we've got a few different projects going at once.  It can be really nice to hop around to different pieces and not stagnate to much with one thing.  Always look forward to our sessions and hearing what's coming next...